


On The Slope Of Dragonmount

by Manetherendrelle (EndlessGloaming)



Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Book 01: The Eye of the World, Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Missing Scene, New Spring, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndlessGloaming/pseuds/Manetherendrelle
Summary: In the midst of a war, Tam al'Thor finds a baby and decides to keep it.I was sad New Spring didn't show Tam finding Rand. Here is my take on it.
Relationships: Rand al'Thor & Tam al'Thor
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28





	On The Slope Of Dragonmount

Tam stood at the edge of the camp, wishing he had something to lean against, but there was nothing out here on the plains under Dragonmount. No boulders, no trees, no houses, walls, or fences. Just soldiers and their tools. And many, many corpses.

Tam's unit had been fighting most of the night, but not long before, a great number of horns had sounded, and the Aiel retreated. No one seemed to understand why, but things around them seem to have quieted, and for now, that was enough.

Supposedly the fighting men could get some sleep if they cared to, but, tired as he was, Tam couldn't imagine sleeping, and not just because the sky was lightening with dawn. No, the bigger problem was the smell. Being so tired probably made it worse. Normally it didn't bother him so much, or maybe it was just that fighting distracted him. Now, though, the smell seemed to invade him, sicken him. So much pain, so much death. He'd almost suggested they relocate their camp, but many of the men had already lain down and gone to sleep. It had been a hard night. He couldn't blame them. But he also couldn't stand to be around here any longer if he didn't have to.

Tam walked to his second. "Arwin, keep the watch awake, two hour shifts, but anybody else who wants to get some rest after that night can."

Arwin nodded. "Yes, sir. Do you be going to get some shuteye as well?"

Tam shook his head. "I think I'm going to walk for a while."

Arwin looked surprised, but nodded and said nothing.

Without really thinking about where he might go, Tam started walking. He passed the camp of the next unit, right next to theirs, but it was no better. He could still see the dead lying a few hundred paces away, hear the moans of the injured. A couple of Aes Sedai were doing healing there now that the fighting in this area had quieted. Apparently their coming so far into the field had been controversial, as they didn't want to put sisters' lives at risk - but then, some others thought the Aes Sedai should intentionally go out where their lives were at risk so their oaths wouldn't stop them from joining the fight. The Aiel seemed to go to significant lengths to avoid the Aes Sedai; perhaps they understood that the sisters couldn't fight unless they were in danger. The Aiel were far more clever than most people gave them credit for, especially when it came to battle tactics.

In front of Tam lay more of the same - more camps, more death, more pain. He turned, tilting his head back to look at the impossibly tall mountain that defined this place. The fighting had not spread to the sloped rocky ground where the mountain started its sharp climb to the sky. That suited Tam at the moment just fine.

With a sense of urgency beyond what he should have had just getting away from the smell, he walked, keeping on with purpose for a good quarter of an hour. His long, brisk strides only slowed when the slope picked up. The ground was cracked and ice coated some of the rocks. Perhaps this was growing too treacherous for a simple walk - it wouldn't do for him to break an ankle now. He didn't want to go back, though. Finally, the air smelled fresh, brisk and clean like a winter morning should. He paused, breathing deeply, assuming not the void but an enhanced attention to his senses. A faint cry sounded farther up the slope. Tam strained to hear it better. Some kind of animal, distressed. The sound stirred something in him, though. It was too familiar, felt too wrong. His skin crawled, and then he felt a cold that had nothing to do with the wind.

Not an animal. A baby. A newborn.

Scrambling almost without care, Tam made his way to the sound. It took several minutes to make his way to the source, a small hollow next to a boulder. An Aiel spear woman was there, bloody, skin blue white, glazed eyes staring at the bundle in her arms. The cry came from a baby she held there.

He knew immediately the woman was dead, but he knelt and checked for a pulse anyway. She had multiple wounds from combat, including a nasty slice in her side, and she had clearly given birth to the child in that hollow. The Aiel woman fought alongside the men, but how had a woman so close to term come out onto a battlefield? Perhaps the wounds induced her to go into labor sooner than she might have otherwise.

All that flashed through Tam's mind in a moment. Better the mother had been able to take care of the baby, but that wasn't an option, and something needed to be done quickly. The babe was blue with cold. The woman must have wrapped her cloak around the baby, but the wind had thrown the covering aside, leaving snow to fall on the poor little thing. Its screams were already weaker than when Tam had first heard it.

Before anything else, he needed to get it warm. Working rapidly, he undid the buttons of his coat, then his shirt. He picked up the babe and held it against his skin, sheltering it against the wind. It was a boy. At first he screamed louder, squirming against Tam's chest. Tam had never spent much time around young children and didn't have much idea how to soothe them. This one seemed to be getting more worked up by the moment. This might have to do for now, but he'd have to find someone to take care of the child. Still, first he had to get the babe warm.

Before long, the warmth seemed to calm the boy. His cries changed to soft sounds that seemed almost contented. The boy squirmed again, leaning back, looking up at him with grey blue eyes just the color of the clear morning sky. Something in Tam's chest ached, and for once, it wasn't for loss. This boy was a bit of new life amidst all the death. He'd find the babe a good home.

He ran his fingers, which now seemed terribly rough, over the boy's head. Tiny hands grasped against Tam's chest, catching only hair.

"You're probably hungry, aren't you? I can't do anything about that now, but I'll find somebody to take care of you properly." There were several towns on the way to Tar Valon. Surely he could find a woman who was still giving suck and had milk to spare.

Tam didn't move, though, not yet. He just sat there, on the frozen rock, holding the child. He was about up to Tam's body temperature, but Tam didn't want to bundle him up for carrying just yet. His little hands kept reaching around, coming to grasp a single one of Tam's fingers.

Tam couldn't move, and he couldn't tear his eyes away. This tiny, innocent, vulnerable baby, so content and trusting, right against his heart.

An _Aiel_ baby. But that didn't matter. And why should it ever matter?

Kari did want children. She'd never talked about it much, but Tam knew she did. He caught her sometimes, looking wistfully at babies. He didn't know why she'd never gotten with child in their years of marriage, but she'd never mentioned it. Tam had never had strong feelings either way, but he did now.

He would keep this baby and raise it himself, he and his wife. Kari would love the boy, he was sure. Tam already did.


End file.
